Jesus came to seek and save the Lost! Weve all have heard it and it feels good to know, but when we rely on our perspective; see it from our ego, the idea of "saved" becomes twisted and inactive. A singular event, existing in space and time rather than a supernatural reclamation that transcends time. Being saved has less to do with your personal salvation and more to do with God's glory! And, that is where the good news lays!
God defines salvation it through his mouthpiece Joel!
Joel 2:23 Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.
24“The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
26“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
28“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
29Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
32And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.
Verse 32 says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." It's a great truth, and is something to memorize, but really misunderstood. What does it really mean to be Saved. The simple answer is saved from hell, but what does that really mean? If we look closer the answer lies in the preceeding verses.
Before we dive in we have to understand a few things about Biblical prophecy pertaining to the end times.
• Israel can stand in the place of God's people. The Faithful of the old covenant and new.
• Israel cal also mean the nation of the Jews.
• Deut 14:2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
• 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
We have to rely on the context from which the name Israel is used to find the application of the truths presented in the prophecy. Sometimes Israel refers to the nation (Exodus 20) and Sometimes Isreal refers to all of God's people (Gal 3:29,) so we have to rely on the context to tell us who the prophet is talking to. In Joel 2 is clearly all of God's people...old covenant and new covenant believers. The setting of this context is important as it eludes to the salvation of the spiritual Israel rather than the natural nation of Israel, making the core of the prophecy spiritualized. Let's take a look.
The Salvation of verse 32 was misinterpreted by Natural(national)Isreal as they were/are looking for God to physically remove them from the hurt of this age. Viewing God from there perspective,they looked for Him to send his messiah to crush their enemies, someone who would restore the nation to prominence. To Make Israel Great Agian! It would be easy to make that mistake when reading the passage from the natural human perspective. The Naturalist Jew of that day concentrated so much on their earthly life that it became their presupposition to approach anything dealing with God! For God so Loved them, that of course He was going to bless them. After all they went to synagogue every Sunday and Wednesday! To them the savior became nothing more than a hired servant, they paid in works, who was obligated to save them. To insure their salvetion, they poured out their "sinners prayer," on the alter sealing the deal...all there is left to do is sit and sing come Lord Jesus come.
Time hasn't changed the human heart that much. Even after the new covenant was given to us, we play the same game. Sadly, many of us treat life as a thing to endure to get to the rapture. We find hope in thinking that someday we will be saved from all this mess. We are so earthly minded that we allow things like viruses, mask, and who's next to steer this flaming ship become our theology. We have reduce the Gospel to nothing more than a get out of earth free card, but thank God that He spoke through Joel to correct that.
The Gospel according to Joel 2
The first thing to take note of that God tells us to be glad Rejoice in the LORD. (V 23) Note the tense, be, which is present tense...meaning now! Not in the future! Be glad now! Because....
He has restored us! Restored us to what? His Image. Through our connection to Jesus we have been restored to our place of prominence in creation! As C.S. Lewis put it through Asland,"Once a King and Queen of Narnia. Always a King and Queen of Narnia." Through our Connection with Jesus (John 15:5) We are restored to our role under God.
Be also glad that He hasn't left us to make the same mistake as Adam, as he changed our spiritual DNA to His (v 28.) He poured His Spirit onto us! To seal us as His. 2 Corinthians 1:22 ESV — and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. Notice the word "has," that means that If you are a Christian it has already been done, so celebrate.
Lastly, be glad that you get to share in the work of God (it's only fitting, being the image and all.) Notice v.28-29 God's Spirit will move you to Prophesy, Dream Dreams, have Visions, and see Wonders, meaning you, the Church, will become the conduit of Jesus to the world! You will share in God's Glorous Redemptive Plan!
The Gospel is so much more than a get out of jail free card. It's actually the news of how to return to what is true Life. It's the news that God made a way ,through Jesus, to the table of the living. It restores us, seals us, and should motivate us. The Gospel isn't something we are waiting for, it's the beginning of what we are. It's neither passive, and lazy, but vibrant and destroying the decay of the evil one.
If you haven't taken the Gospel serious lately, maybe it's time to meditate on its truths.
• You've been restored
• You've been sealed
• You've been given a purpose
The only thing left to do is act. Rev 2: 2Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.
There is much Kingdom Work to be done.